The UK Cabinet Office says it’s exploring options for the future of the Government Digital Service — on which Australia’s Digital Transformation Office is based. It follows GDS boss Mike Bracken’s announcement he will depart in September.

At the end of last week I went to see my boss, John Manzoni to tell him I’m leaving government. I wanted to take a moment here to thank everyone for the tremendous help I’ve been given in the last five years.

I have to start with Martha Lane Fox and Francis Maude for making the conditions to bring me, and those of the Internet generation, into the very centre of government, and setting such an incredible challenge and offering unwavering support along the way. Chris Chant was my guide around Whitehall and showed me what unacceptable services really look like. I also have to acknowledge all the digital government pioneers who were here long before the advent of GDS, doing dedicated, important work, largely unheralded. We started off standing on the shoulders of giants. They know who they are. Most of them are at OpenTech each year. And before them, if it wasn’t for Tom Steinberg and his work with Rohan Silva, I don’t think GDS would have existed. They and the many other early pioneers, have my utmost respect.

There has been advice, support and hard work all across government. Digital Leaders and Tech Leaders, to the hundreds of digital people we’ve helped to hire, to the front-line staff who’ve been generous with their time as I poked around their services, to the digital teams in departments and agencies who’ve knuckled down and redesigned their services around their users.

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